Built Upon Castles of Sand
by ZeroMythos
Summary: Harry keeps on having these strange visions of a mysterious young girl, but when the items in his dreams suddenly turn up in real life, Harry is in for the ride of his life. And what exactly does Draco Malfoy have to do with this young girl anyway?


**Rating: **Possibly PG-13

**Pairing: **Draco/Harry (eventually...)

**Notes: **Yo, I seriously need a beta up in here. So like, if you want to help just gimme a call and we can work things out, aight? By call, I mean just message me or something. Also, I suck at writing so I am so very very sorry for this, but the idea just popped into my head. Also, no sex so...I'm sorry sex-crazed fangirls.

**Summary: **Harry keeps on having these strange visions of a mysterious young girl, but when the items in his dreams suddenly turn up in real life, Harry is in for the ride of his life. And what exactly does Draco Malfoy have to do with this young girl anyway?

**Disclaimer: **The characters totally belong to J.K. Rowling.

**Missing**

As the thin clouds rolled into each other in the sky painted over with red, lavender and navy, Harry Potter lifted his hand and outstretched his arm towards the shimmering sun. Its bright rays shone between his fingers, casting a shadowy figure over Harry's face as he stared solemnly at the scars etched onto his fair skin. Eyelids drifted closed over brilliant green eyes and Harry sat still, stretching his fingers further apart until he could no longer continue, then pressed them together again only to repeat the action a couple of times in the cool afternoon breeze. It was eerily quiet; the only sound flowed from the bedraggled swing that was pushed back slightly only to be brought down over and over. At the very moment everything was silent and peaceful for Harry, a tremendous difference from his hectic life full of perilous misadventures. Danger to him was like an old friend, one that never bothered to knock on the door and came barging in instead of being polite, but that was okay, because they knew each other for so long that it did not even matter in the slightest anymore.

Harry sighed and opened his eyes to study the orange and red mixture that tinted the sides of his fingers, his gaze constantly straying towards the nearly invisible words sprawled across his skin. It was beautiful in its own twisted and disgusting way, the words echoing in his mind as a flash of bright pink entered his field of vision before it was gone. Too soon, Harry thought absentmindedly.

"I must not tell lies..."He whispered, over and over again until he could no longer handle the heavy silence that fell after each time those words spilled from his lips. Harry pressed his lips together into a thin line and his bottom lip quivered, eyes glistening as if he were prepared to cry but it never happened. The teenager balled his hand up into a fist and watched it tremble against the soft light for a moment, then brought it down against his mouth and pressed his chapped lips against the warm skin of his hand, eyes drifting closed again. The scars were, unfortunately, a reminder of the necessity of staying honest, even if no one believed the words of an adolescent. He knew the truth and if he could relay what he knew, then so be it. It was not his fault if others got hurt because of their blind ignorance in the safety of the wizarding world.

"It's not my fault...It's not my fault..."Harry mumbled against his hand. The smell of lemon and honey wafted through the air and assaulted his senses with a wonderful aroma that awakened his groggy state of mind. He inhaled deeply then exhaled, ignoring the tingling sensation that ran down his spine when his breath ghosted over his hand that was still lightly pressed against his mouth. A flash of a confused yet frightened face passed through his mind, and it caused Harry to sit upright. His eyelids flew open as if he were burned and an involuntary gasp escaped from in-between his lips. No matter how much he tried to omit the memory from his mind, it would not work, and such a thought pained him so.

Seconds rolled into minutes, and minutes quickly rolled into hours until Harry finally deemed it necessary to go back to the Dursleys on Privet Drive. As he cast one last look at the empty swing next to him, he felt a sort of premonition that an inimical event was going to occur at Hogwarts once again, and he despised that sick feeling in his stomach that twisted his insides until he felt like coughing up his lunch. The raven haired boy languidly stood up from his position on the swing, glanced around the darkened park and shuffled his way towards the place he would never call home.

It was Harry Potter's 16th birthday and he never felt more alone.

• • •

Harry peered over his book to look at Hermione, who was currently sitting cross-legged on the rug near the fireplace, and furrowed his eyebrows in deep concentration. Chocolate brown eyes snapped towards his general direction and Harry nearly fell off from his seat, wondering momentarily if Hermione had some sort of strong 6th sense but brushed it off as he straightened his back and lowered the thick book on charms from his face. He calmly placed a hand over the page he was, inconceivably, trying to read but failed due to his lack of concentration on the theory of disillusionment spells. Using his other hand, Harry rubbed at the nape of his neck in a nervous habit and focused his attention elsewhere, hoping Hermione could just focus on her reading once more. No such luck.

"Harry."

She sounded a bit frustrated, her voice strained as though she speaking to a little child. Although Harry was already sixteen years old and saw enough to be considered an adult, Hermione always spoke to him in such a manner. It was unnerving really.

"Hermione?"Harry winced when he heard his voice raise considerably at the end of his sentence.

"_Harry._"Hermione was starting to sound annoyed.

"Ron!"

The familiar voice and dipping of the couch caused Harry to turn his head towards his left, and grinned when he saw Ron's sparkling blue eyes, freckles, messy red hair and cheesy smile."So, what are you guys up to?"He asked as he leaned back, draped his arm over the back of couch and outstretched his long legs so he could slump in his seat. The ends of his dark red pajama pants pulled up at the motion and revealed two socks that were clearly not identical, one bright orange and the other a much darker blue. Harry snorted at the sight.

"We're studying."Harry replied quickly in order to avoid having Hermione answer for him. He could hear her huff of indignation, but waved it off as he ducked his head and lowered his gaze to the scribbled words on parchment in front of him.

"_Studying?_ Seriously mate?"Ron's voice was a bit high pitched, as though he could not begin to comprehend the logistics of Harry Potter studying willingly."Wow Harry, that is just...What kind of dark magic did 'mione perform on you this time?"He joked, and was rewarded with a pillow to the face.

Harry looked up just in time to find Ron scrambling on the couch and clawing at the velvet pillow that refused to leave his face, screams muffled by the fluffy object. An amused chuckle fell from Harry's lips as he watched Ron struggle, then burst into boisterous laughter when he finally tore the pillow away from his face. From a distance, he could also hear Hermione laughing at her own antics, but Harry was too busy staring and snorting at Ron's bright red face.

"Buggering hell 'mione!"Ron groaned and rubbed a hand against his pinkish face."What did you do to the thing?"

Harry stopped laughing enough to choke out a sound of agreement. Whatever she had done, it was pure genius.

"Oh it was nothing. Just a little attachment charm that I adjusted myself."Hermione responded calmly. Her brown eyes lit up with mirth and the corner of her lips quirked up into a not so subtle smirk.

Harry heard Ron asking Hermione if she could teach him about the attachment spell and tuned them out so he could focus on his book. Dark bangs hung over his face as he lowered his head and traced the words he was reading in his mind with his index finger. The black frames that hung loosely on his face slipped a bit lower, and he wiggled his nose so they could fall off. He used his free hand to pick up his glasses and deposit them on the couch, then brought his legs up close to his chest and grasped the edges of the book to keep it in place. Thinking that he needed a haircut, Harry swept his bangs behind his ear and gently nibbled on his bottom lip as his eyes darted from left to right. When he licked his fingers and brought them down to the corner of the page so he could flip it, he heard the sounds of snickering and brought his legs down to throw a piercing gaze at Ron.

"_What?_"Harry snapped.

"You just- God you look like a-"Ron broke out into another fit of giggles, or chuckles in this case, and slapped his thigh repeatedly."Damn mate, you look like a bloody bookworm crouched over your book like that."He managed to choke out. Another pillow, this time blue, flew at him and clung to his face. A soft smile adorned Harry's face and he looked over at Hermione, who only rose both of her dark eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders elegantly. He brought his legs up to his chest again, leaned forward and continued reading as Ron struggled with the malicious pillow and Hermione flipped lazily through her thick book. In a couple of minutes, Harry had drifted off into a deep sleep.

_Everything was a brilliant white; the polished tables with thick books pilled on top, ribbons and pieces of paper strewn across the floor covered by a rug, jars full of unidentifiable objects crowded around each other in a bookshelf pressed against the wall that was tilting towards the right and curtains that hung in front of the windows. The only item that was not white was a dark orb that was nestled on the top of a pillow, the black contrasting beautifully with the white. Orange light peeked through the thin curtains and, surprisingly, only the circular object shimmered in the sun's rays. The sweet smell of honey permeated the air and sent a sense of calm through Harry as he stood idly in the middle of the mysterious room._

_ Out of the corner of his eye, he saw white hair blowing gently in the wind and Harry wondered momentarily where the wind was coming from since he did not feel anything himself, but shook off the thought when a thin arm appeared in his field of vision. Only one, small and delicate looking finger was outstretched upwards, towards the ceiling and Harry tilted his head upwards to see what she was pointing at. When he saw nothing of importance and only a white ceiling, he lifted his shoulders in a mild shrug and brought his head down to settle his gaze on the person standing a couple of feet away from him. This time however, the arm was outstretched in a straight line and her finger was pointing towards something to his left. He blinked, then followed the direction of her finger and stared solemnly at the black orb. Harry opened his mouth to speak but figured he could not form words, so he simply tilted his head to the right and brought his eyebrows down together in a manner he thought portrayed confusion. _

_ The girl lowered her arm, turned herself around in one swift motion, and began to slowly walk towards the black orb, which was now a brilliant sapphire. Harry saw her bend over and gently picked up the object, cradling it in her arms as if it were a small child. Her blanket of white hair still obscured her face as she ducked her head to stare at the item in her arms, then she shocked Harry when she threw the orb into the air as if it were useless. For whatever reason, Harry felt it necessary to protect it and he stepped forward to catch it in his hands, seeker skills coming in handy as he felt the cool, glass sphere against his clammy palm. A whisper brought him out of his daze and he looked up to find himself staring at a pair of bright, dazzling aquamarine eyes that shone like the night sky filled with stars. _

_ "Find it..." _

Harry awoke with a start and his hands flew up to his eyes, the blue eyes from that mysterious girl almost seemingly burned into his retina. When white and blue no longer blinded him, he shifted uncomfortably in what he thought was a bed and pushed himself up using his elbows, only to glance around the brightly colored room with slight distaste. While Harry enjoyed spending his time with the Weasleys, their rooms seriously needed some redecoration. Tufts of bright red hair caught his attention and he shifted himself in the bed to stare at the huge lump covered with an annoyingly bright orange blanket. Loud snores bounced off the walls of the small room and Harry cursed under his breath, then dropped himself back onto the bed and let out a small "oof" as he landed against the soft material. He stared up at the ceiling, then raised his arm to cover his eyes.

Scenes from the dream suddenly overtook Harry's thoughts and he found himself wondering what it was about, what the orb had to do with his life and why the white haired girl had told him to find it. Was she speaking about the black orb itself or something more meaningful than that? Was this dream even normal or just a silly fantasy to indulge himself with at the moment. Finding that his thoughts were making him even more irritated, Harry pressed the palms of his hand against face and rubbed furiously, then rolled onto his stomach and buried his head in the pillow. He closed his eyes, slid his arms underneath the pillow and blew softly against the cotton material. _Stranger things have happened_, Harry thought glumly, _and this is nothing compared to it._

A loud knock on the door broke Harry out of his reverie and he shifted to see who was going to enter the room. When the person did not appear, he raised himself on his elbows and shouted for them to enter. For a quick second, Harry swore he saw bright white hair flowing in through the cracked open door, but only came face to face with an apron that had awful handwriting scribbled on the front. Its messy scrawl made it difficult to identify what the message was supposed to be, but Harry guessed it meant to say,"Kiss the chief".

"My older brother isn't awake yet, is he?"A soft yet firm voice chuckled, and Harry smiled gently. Ginny clutched the front of the apron and directed her attention towards the raven haired boy, a cheesy grin plastered onto her round face. Red hair was pulled back into a ponytail and strands of hair poked out in all directions; it made her look like a messy painter. Harry hummed in agreement and threaded his fingers through his hair, staring at Ginny as she approached him a bit cautiously. A loud squeak erupted as she pressed the heel of her foot against a loose floorboard, and immediately they both looked over at Ron.

A loud groan filled the empty silence and if Harry were blind, he would have sworn that that sound came from some kind of magical beast. Fortunately for them, it was just Ron being woken up by his little sister."You better not be snogging with my sister mate, or I'll hex your balls off."Grumbled Ron as he wiggled around in his bed to remove the blankets.

"Oh you are so - I'll see you downstairs Harry, and maybe my stupid older brother will have learned a thing or two about proper manners!"Ginny huffed, grabbed a fistful of her apron and marched out of the bedroom, leaving behind a befuddled Ron and a smiling Harry.

Ron sat up in his bed and quirked an eyebrow as he stared at the doorway, a look of confusion evident on his freckled face."What the hell was that...?"He asked himself. Harry was about to respond before he felt a stabbing sensation in his chest, and he winced as his hand flew up to lightly scratch at his now aching chest. The stabbing sensation quickly transitioned into one that burned fiercely and Harry felt a sort of emptiness as Ron turned to look at his troubled friend. Heat began to pool at the bottom of his stomach, making Harry press another hand against his growling stomach. Then it all ceased; the troubling sensation, the heat, the gnawing pain in his stomach. It was gone before Harry could fully comprehend what was happening, but as he looked up to stare into troubled blue eyes, he realized that perhaps that dream simply wasn't a dream anymore.

Harry knew what he was feeling at that very moment, and it felt as if he were missing something of importance.

• • •

Hermione hummed and tapped a finger against her bottom lip, staring into the blazing fire as she pondered silently."Are you absolutely certain?"She asked silently, only moving her lips but not her gaze.

"Positive."Harry replied solemnly, almost feeling as if he were in therapy, although he did not have a single clue as to how it felt. However, he knew for certain that those sitting in small rooms with doctors trying to talk about "feelings" must have felt extremely uncomfortable, and that is what Harry was feeling at the moment. He looked over at Hermione, whose face was tinged with different shades of orange and red as the fire continued to burn, the crackling sounds filling the silence whenever someone did not speak. Harry could hear Ron shifting around in his seat and coughing quietly although not discreetly, which seemed to annoy the frizzy haired witch as the tapping became faster. When she could not longer handle it, Hermione shot a sharp glance over in Ron's direction which caused all the moving and coughing to halt almost immediately.

A sigh escaped her lips and she pressed the tips of her fingers against the bridge of her nose."It might just be a coincidence Harry. This feeling that you're getting...Perhaps it's because of-"Hermione stopped abruptly and Harry pressed his back even further into the couch, hoping that it would just swallow him right there and then. She would not dare to bring up that subject-

"Sirius."

"Oh look at the time, I have to go use the restroom and hopefully never come back downstairs."Harry clasped his hands together, smiled brightly and proceeded to remove himself from the couch, but was held back by Hermione's demanding stare. A flame of anger began to arise in Harry as he dug his nails into his thigh, eyes narrowed to the point that they almost appeared to be slits on his face."No no no, we are not doing this right now. Actually, we are not doing this ever and that is final. Unless you don't understand the English language, I would love to go upstairs and forget this ever happened, okay? Thank you very much for your time Hermione."Harry made a move to stand up again, but this time it was Ron who grasped his arm to pull him back down.

Harry's glare was now directed at Ron, who visibly cowered back at the intense anger burning in those green eyes, but he refused to let go."I-I think maybe, you should let 'mione talk to you about this. I think she's got a point mate."He whispered softly.

"What is it that you both don't understand? I don't want to talk about it, I don't think I'll ever want to talk about it! So stop bothering me about it and move on with your own bloody lives!"Harry began to raise his voice as he continued talking, making both Hermione and Ron flinch at his tone of voice. When Ron opened his mouth to speak, Harry just ripped his arm away from his grip and wrapped an arm around his stomach, swaying a bit as he pressed his palm against his temple."Just don't...I'm going to sleep now, and don't bother me about this again."He grunted, then moved towards the staircase and slowly began to ascend. When Harry dropped onto the bed that evening, he felt the gnawing sensation in his stomach again, but only groaned in response.

A hand laid comfortably atop his chest, and no matter how much he tried to ignore it, the feeling that something dreadfully vital was missing would not go away.


End file.
